MLB roundup: Cardinals sign Craig to five-year deal
The St. Louis Cardinals invested in Allen Craig for the future, signing the first baseman-outfielder to a five-year contract with a club option for 2018, the team announced Friday.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Craig is guaranteed to earn $31 million over the term of the contract. He will make $1.75 million this year, $2.75 million in 2014, $5.5 million in 2015, $9 million in 2016 and $11 million in 2017.
Craig batted .307 with 22 home runs and 92 RBI last season in 119 games after returning from off-season knee surgery. His .400 batting average with runners in scoring position led the major leagues last year, his first season as a full-time starter.
--Cardinal shortstop Rafael Furcal, who reinjured his elbow making a sidearm throw in a camp drill, is scheduled to have Tommy John ligament replacement surgery on Wednesday, according to the Post-Dispatch. He will be lost for six to eight months. His next game probably will be in the Dominican winter league next offseason, the Post-Dispatch reported.
Pete Kozma, who replaced Furcal when the latter suffered a torn ligament last Aug. 30, will have the job again.
---New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter has declared himself ready to play now that his broken left ankle is "100 percent healed."
The next step is to play a spring-training game. Manager Joe Girardi has said Jeter would start as a designed hitter and likely be limited to two at-bats initially. His first action could come this weekend or Monday.
--- Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland is working on a one-year contract and he's 68 years old, but he has no plans to retire after this season, regardless of whether the Tigers win the World Series or not, according to MLB.com.
. ---It appears Aubrey Huff is retiring, not signing with the New York Yankees.
Huff's name was raised when Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira suffered a sprained wrist that will sideline him eight to 10 weeks. But the 36-year-old Huff told the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday, "I'm pretty much retired."
